This work was supported by an NSF CAREER Award No. 0954345.

1. CVD Synthesis of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanotube Cups (NCNCs)
NCNCs were synthesized employing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique on quartz substrate using liquid precursors (Figure 1A).
<ol>
	<li>Place a 3 ft long quartz tube (2.5 cm i.d.) in a Lindberg/Blue tube furnace as the reaction chamber. Place a quartz plate (1" &times; 12") inside the tube as the substrate for product collection. Seal the quartz tube using homemade stainless steel caps with built-in gas and liquid injection connections/tubes.</li>
	<li>Make a solution of liquid precursor containing 0.75 wt% ferrocene, 10 wt% acetonitrile and 89.25 wt% xylenes. Before the growth, draw about 5 ml of liquid precursor into a gas tight syringe connected to the inlet to the quartz tube. Place the syringe on a syringe pump.</li>
	<li>Assemble the CVD system. Connect all gas inlet and outlet. Flow Ar (845 sccm) to purge the CVD system and check leakage using Snoop liquid leak detector. After purging for 20 min, turn on H2. Set the flow rate of H2 to 37.5 sccm and Ar to 127 sccm. Turn on the furnace. Set the temperature of the furnace to 800 &deg;C and wait till it is stable at 800 &deg;C.</li>
	<li>Use the syringe pump to inject the liquid precursor into the quartz tube. Set the injection rate at 9 ml/hr for 6 min to fill the dead volume of the injector tube. Then turn down the injection rate to 1 ml/hr for the growth of NCNCs. After 90 min of growth, turn off the syringe pump and H2 gas flow, and shut down the furnace. Keep Ar flowing to maintain an inert atmosphere until the furnace was cooled down to RT.</li>
	<li>Disconnect all gas inlets and outlets, and the injection system. Disassemble the CVD system and take the quartz plate out. Use a one-sided razor blade to peel off the NCNCs film from the quartz plate. Disperse the collected product in ethanol. Respiratory protection is needed to prevent inhaling possible carbon materials if the work is conducted outside of fume hood.</li>
</ol>
2. Oxidation of As-synthesized NCNCs by a Mixture of Acids
<ol>
	<li>Transfer about 10 mg of as-synthesized NCNCs to a 200 ml round-bottom flask. Add 7.5 ml of concentrated HNO3 to the flask. Briefly sonicate the mixture in water bath for better dispersion. Then add 22.5 ml of concentrated H2SO4 slowly. (CAUTION: the strong acid mixture is highly corrosive; carefully handle these acids with safety protection.) Sonicate the reaction mixture in water bath at RT for 4 hr.</li>
	<li>Dilute the reaction mixture with 100 ml of water while cooling down in ice bath. Filter the mixture through a polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) membrane with pore size of 220 nm using a water aspirator.</li>
	<li>Wash the material on the filter membrane with 200 ml of 0.01 M NaOH solution to remove any acidic residual byproduct.18 Then wash with 200 ml of 0.01 M HCl solution, followed by copious amount of water until a neutral pH of the filtrate was achieved. Disperse the resultant material (oxidized NCNCs) in water (20 ml) by sonication. The resulted suspension can be stored at RT for further experiments.</li>
</ol>
3. Physical Separation of NCNCs by Probe-tip Sonication
<ol>
	<li>Transfer the suspension of oxidized NCNCs in water to a 100 ml plastic cup placed in ice bath. Fill the plastic cup to the 50 ml mark with water. Set the probe-tip sonicator equipped with a 1/4" diameter titanium microtip at 60% maximum magnitude (12 W). Submerge the microtip to the center of the solution and then process for 12 hr with 30 sec on/off interval. Change the ice every 30 min to prevent overheating.</li>
	<li>Stop the sonication. Filter the NCNC suspension through a 220 nm pore-size PTFE filter membrane to remove any large particles. The resultant NCNC samples can be store at RT for further applications.</li>
	<li>(Optional) As a comparison experiment, disperse another sample of as-synthesized NCNCs in DMF and directly sonicate the suspension with probe-tip sonication for 12 hr at the same settings as above.</li>
</ol>
4. Quantitative Analysis of Amine Functional Groups on NCNCs by Kaiser Test
<ol>
	<li>Prepare the reagent A: mix 1 g of phenol and 250 &mu;l of EtOH in 2.5 ml of pyridine, add 50 &mu;l of 0.01 M hydrindantin in H2O to the mixture. Prepare the reagent B: dissolve ninhydrin (50 mg) in 1 ml of EtOH.</li>
	<li>Weighed the NCNCs samples (~0.5 mg) on a microbalance and disperse them in 1 ml of 3:2 EtOH/water in small test tubes. Add 100 &mu;l of Reagent A and 25 &mu;l of Reagent B to the sample suspension. Seal the test tubes with parafilms and heat the mixture at 100 &deg;C oil bath for 10 min. Filter the sample through a syringe filter to remove solid particles and collect the filtrate solution.</li>
	<li>Take the visible spectra on the filtrate for colorimetric analysis with the blank sample made in the same process without adding NCNCs. Record the absorbance of the peak centered at 570 nm and calculate the amine loadings according to the Beer-Lambert law.</li>
</ol>
5. Functionalization of NCNCs with GNPs
<ol>
	<li>Sonicate 4 ml of aqueous suspension containing separated NCNCs (0.01 mg/ml) using a water-bath sonicator for 5 min to achieve a uniform dispersion.</li>
	<li>Add 1 ml of HAuCl4 aqueous solution (1 mg/ml) to the NCNC suspension during sonication. Then add 250 &mu;l of 1 wt% trisodium citrate aqueous solution dropwise. Vigorously stir the reaction mixture was at 70 &deg;C on a hot plate for 2 hr.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the reaction mixture at 3,400 rpm for 15 min. Collect the NCNCs functionalized with GNPs in the precipitate and wash with water by centrifugation. Disperse the precipitate in water (4 ml).</li>
</ol>

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

The primary goal of our experiments was to effectively produce graphitic nanocups from nitrogen-doped CNTs. However, nitrogen-doping in the CVD synthesis does not guarantee the formation of the stacked cup-shaped structure. Depending on the chemical composition of the precursor and other growth conditions, the morphology of the resulted product may vary a lot.19 The concentration of nitrogen source is the primary factor influencing the structure because the compartmented structure results from the incompatibil...

With their inherent inner cavities and versatile surface chemistry, hollow carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are considered to be good nanocarriers in drug delivery applications.1,2 However, the fibril structure of pristine CNTs has rather inaccessible hollow interiors and may cause severe inflammatory response and cytotoxic effects in biological systems.3,4 Nitrogen-doped CNTs, on the other hand, have been found to possess higher biocompatibility than undoped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)5,6 and may have better drug delivery performance. Doping of nitrogen atoms into the nanotube graphitic lattices results in a compartmented hollow structure resembling stacked cups which can be separated out to obtain individual nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube cups (NCNCs) with typical length under 200 nm.7,8 With their accessible interiors and nitrogen functionalities which allow for further chemical functionalization, these individual graphitic cups are highly advantageous for drug delivery applications.
Among different synthetic methods for nitrogen-doped CNTs including arc-discharge9 and dc magnetron sputtering,10 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been the most prevalent method due to several advantages such as higher yield and easier control over nanotube growth conditions. The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism is commonly employed to understand the CVD growth process of nitrogen-doped CNTs.11 Generally there are two different schemes to use metal catalyst seeds in the growth. In the "fixed-bed" scheme, iron nanoparticles with defined sizes were first synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl and then plated on quartz slides by spin coating for subsequent CVD growth.12 In the "floating catalyst" scheme, iron catalyst (typically ferrocene) was mixed and injected with carbon and nitrogen precursors, and the thermal decomposition of ferrocene provided in situ generation of iron catalytic nanoparticles on which the carbon and nitrogen precursors were deposited. While fixed-bed catalyst provides better size control over the resultant NCNCs, the yield of product is typically lower (&lt;1 mg) compared to the floating catalyst scheme (&gt;5 mg) for the same precursor amount and growth time. As the floating catalyst scheme also provides fairly uniform size distribution of NCNCs, it was adopted in this paper for CVD synthesis of NCNCs.
CVD method affords as-synthesized NCNCs which exhibit fibril morphology comprised of many stacked cups. Although there is no chemical bonding between adjacent cups,8 challenges remain in effective isolation of the individual cups because they are firmly inserted into each other's cavities and held by multiple noncovalent interactions and an outer layer of amorphous carbon.8 Attempts to separate the stacked cups include both chemical and physical approaches. While oxidation treatments in a mixture of strong acids is a typical procedure to cut CNTs and introduce oxygen functionalities,13,14 it can also be applied to cut NCNCs into shorter sections. Microwave plasma etching procedures have been also shown to separate the NCNCs.15 Compared to the chemical approaches, physical separation is more straightforward. Our previous study showed that by simply grinding with a mortar and pestle individual NCNCs can be partially isolated from their stacked structure.7 In addition, high-intensity probe-tip sonication, which was reported to effectively cut single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs),16 was also shown to have a significant effect on separation of NCNCs.8 The probe-tip sonication delivers high-intensity ultrasonic power to the NCNC solution that essentially "shakes" the stacked cups and disrupts the weak interactions that hold the cups together. While other potential separation methods are either inefficient or destructive to the cup structure, probe-tip sonication provides a highly effective, cost-efficient and less-destructive physical separation method to obtain individual graphitic cups.
The as-synthesized fibril NCNCs were first treated in concentrated H2SO4/HNO3 acid mixture prior to their separation with probe-tip sonication. The resultant separated NCNCs were highly hydrophilic and effectively dispersed in water. We have previously identified nitrogen functionalities such as amine groups on NCNCs and utilized their chemical reactivity for NCNCs functionalization.7,8,17 Compared to our previously reported method of corking NCNCs with commercial nanoparticles,8 in this work, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were effectively anchored to the surface of the cups by citrate reduction from chloroauric acid. Due to the preferential distribution of nitrogen functionalities on the open rims of NCNCs, the GNPs synthesized in situ from the gold precursors tended to have better interaction with the open rims and form GNP "cork stoppers" on the cups. Such synthesis and functionalization methods have resulted in a novel GNP-NCNC hybrid nanomaterial for potential applications as drug delivery carriers.

<table border="1">
 <tbody>
 <tr>
 <td>Reagent Name</td>
 <td>Company</td>
 <td>Catalogue Number</td>
 <td>Comment</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td>Reagents</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>H2</td>
 <td>Valley National Gases</td>
 <td>Grade 5.0</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ar</td>
 <td>Valley National Gases</td>
 <td>Grade 5.0</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ferrocene</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>F408-500G</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Xylenes</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>X5-500</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Acetonitrile</td>
 <td>EMD</td>
 <td>AXO149-6</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>H2SO4</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>A300-500</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>HNO3</td>
 <td>EMD</td>
 <td>NX0409-2</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DMF</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>D119-500</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ethanol</td>
 <td>Decon</td>
 <td>2716</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Phenol</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>P1037-100G</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Pyridine</td>
 <td>EMD</td>
 <td>PX2020-6</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Hydridantin</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>H2003-10G</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Ninhydrin </td>
 <td>Alfa Aesar</td>
 <td>43846</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>HAuCl4</td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
 <td>52918-1G</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Sodium Citrate</td>
 <td>SAFC</td>
 <td>W302600</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td>Equipment</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>CVD Furnace</td>
 <td>Lindberg/Blue</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>TEM (low-resolution)</td>
 <td>FEI Morgagni</td>
 <td>&nbsp;</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>TEM (high-resolution)</td>
 <td>JOEL</td>
 <td>2100F</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Probe-tip Sonicator</td>
 <td>Qsonica</td>
 <td>XL-2000</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>UV-Vis Spectrometer</td>
 <td>Perkin-Elmer</td>
 <td>Lambda 900</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Zeta Potential Analyzer</td>
 <td>Brookheaven</td>
 <td>ZetaPlus</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>EDX spectroscopy</td>
 <td>Phillips</td>
 <td>XL30 FEG</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

synthesis and functionalization of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube cups with gold nanoparticles as cork stoppers

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes consist of many cup-shaped graphitic compartments termed as nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube cups (NCNCs). These as-synthesized graphitic nanocups from chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method were stacked in a head-to-tail fashion held only through noncovalent interactions. Individual NCNCs can be isolated out of their stacking structure through a series of chemical and physical separation processes. First, as-synthesized NCNCs were oxidized in a mixture of strong acids to introduce oxygen-containing defects on the graphitic walls. The oxidized NCNCs were then processed using high-intensity probe-tip sonication which effectively separated the stacked NCNCs into individual graphitic nanocups. Owing to their abundant oxygen and nitrogen surface functionalities, the resulted individual NCNCs are highly hydrophilic and can be effectively functionalized with gold nanoparticles (GNPs), which preferentially fit in the opening of the cups as cork stoppers. These graphitic nanocups corked with GNPs may find promising applications as nanoscale containers and drug carriers.

The as-synthesized NCNCs from CVD growth appeared as a carpet of black material on quartz substrate. Thick films of NCNCs weighing about several mg were obtained by peeling with a razor blade (Figure 1B). TEM images show the morphology of as-synthesized NCNCs at different magnifications (Figure 1). At the lower magnification (Figure 1C), the as-synthesized NCNCs all showed a fibril structure with lengths of typically several micrometers and diameters of 20 - 30 nm. Unlik...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Synthesis and Functionalization of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanotube Cups with Gold Nanoparticles as Cork Stoppers at JoVE.com

Synthesis and Functionalization of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanotube Cups with Gold Nanoparticles as Cork Stoppers

We discussed the synthesis of individual graphitic nanocups using a series of techniques including chemical vapor deposition, acid oxidation and probe-tip sonication. By citrate reduction of HAuCl4, the graphitic nanocups were effectively corked with gold nanoparticles due to the chemically reactive edges of the cups.

Nitrogen-doped carbon  nanotubes consist of many cup-shaped graphitic compartments termed as  nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube cups (NCNCs).  These ...

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22.7K Views.  University of Pittsburgh. We discussed the synthesis of individual graphitic nanocups using a series of techniques including chemical vapor deposition, acid oxidation and probe-tip sonication. By citrate reduction of HAuCl4, the graphitic nanocups were effectively corked with gold nanoparticles due to the chemically reactive edges of the cups.

Video: Synthesis and Functionalization of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Nanotube Cups with Gold Nanoparticles as Cork Stoppers

Fabrication, Densification, and Replica Molding of 3D Carbon Nanotube Microstructures

The introduction of new materials and processes to microfabrication has, in large part, enabled many important advances in microsystems, lab-on-a-chip devices, and their applications. In particular, capabilities for cost-effective fabrication of polymer microstructures were transformed by the advent of soft lithography and other micromolding techniques 1, 2, and this led a revolution in applications of microfabrication to biomedical engineering and biology. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to fabricate microstructures with well-defined nanoscale surface textures, and to fabricate arbitrary 3D shapes at the micro-scale. Robustness of master molds and maintenance of shape integrity is especially important to achieve high fidelity replication of complex structures and preserving their nanoscale surface texture. The combination of hierarchical textures, and heterogeneous shapes, is a profound challenge to existing microfabrication methods that largely rely upon top-down etching using fixed mask templates. On the other hand, the bottom-up synthesis of nanostructures such as nanotubes and nanowires can offer new capabilities to microfabrication, in particular by taking advantage of the collective self-organization of nanostructures, and local control of their growth behavior with respect to microfabricated patterns. 
Our goal is to introduce vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which we refer to as CNT "forests", as a new microfabrication material. We present details of a suite of related methods recently developed by our group: fabrication of CNT forest microstructures by thermal CVD from lithographically patterned catalyst thin films; self-directed elastocapillary densification of CNT microstructures; and replica molding of polymer microstructures using CNT composite master molds. In particular, our work shows that self-directed capillary densification ("capillary forming"), which is performed by condensation of a solvent onto the substrate with CNT microstructures, significantly increases the packing density of CNTs. This process enables directed transformation of vertical CNT microstructures into straight, inclined, and twisted shapes, which have robust mechanical properties exceeding those of typical microfabrication polymers. This in turn enables formation of nanocomposite CNT master molds by capillary-driven infiltration of polymers. The replica structures exhibit the anisotropic nanoscale texture of the aligned CNTs, and can have walls with sub-micron thickness and aspect ratios exceeding 50:1. Integration of CNT microstructures in fabrication offers further opportunity to exploit the electrical and thermal properties of CNTs, and diverse capabilities for chemical and biochemical functionalization 3.

We present methods for fabrication of patterned microstructures of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and their use as master molds for production of polymer microstructures with organized nanoscale surface texture. The CNT forests are densified by condensation of solvent onto the substrate, which significantly increases their packing density and enables self-directed formation of 3D shapes.

The introduction of new materials and processes to microfabrication has, in large part, enabled many important advances in microsystems, lab-on-a-chip ...

Dry Oxidation and Vacuum Annealing Treatments for Tuning the Wetting Properties of Carbon Nanotube Arrays

In this article, we describe a simple method to reversibly tune the wetting properties of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays. Here, CNT arrays are defined as densely packed multi-walled carbon nanotubes oriented perpendicular to the growth substrate as a result of a growth process by the standard thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique.1,2 These CNT arrays are then exposed to vacuum annealing treatment to make them more hydrophobic or to dry oxidation treatment to render them more hydrophilic. The hydrophobic CNT arrays can be turned hydrophilic by exposing them to dry oxidation treatment, while the hydrophilic CNT arrays can be turned hydrophobic by exposing them to vacuum annealing treatment. Using a combination of both treatments, CNT arrays can be repeatedly switched between hydrophilic and hydrophobic.2 Therefore, such combination show a very high potential in many industrial and consumer applications, including drug delivery system and high power density supercapacitors.3-5
The key to vary the wettability of CNT arrays is to control the surface concentration of oxygen adsorbates. Basically oxygen adsorbates can be introduced by exposing the CNT arrays to any oxidation treatment. Here we use dry oxidation treatments, such as oxygen plasma and UV/ozone, to functionalize the surface of CNT with oxygenated functional groups. These oxygenated functional groups allow hydrogen bond between the surface of CNT and water molecules to form, rendering the CNT hydrophilic. To turn them hydrophobic, adsorbed oxygen must be removed from the surface of CNT. Here we employ vacuum annealing treatment to induce oxygen desorption process. CNT arrays with extremely low surface concentration of oxygen adsorbates exhibit a superhydrophobic behavior.

This article describes a simple method to fabricate vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays by CVD and to subsequently tune their wetting properties by exposing them to vacuum annealing or dry oxidation treatment.

In this article, we describe a simple method to reversibly  tune the wetting properties of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays.  Here, CNT ...

Ambient Method for the Production of an Ionically Gated Carbon Nanotube Common Cathode in Tandem Organic Solar Cells

A method of fabricating organic photovoltaic (OPV) tandems that requires no vacuum processing is presented. These devices are comprised of two solution-processed polymeric cells connected in parallel by a transparent carbon nanotubes (CNT) interlayer. This structure includes improvements in fabrication techniques for tandem OPV devices. First the need for ambient-processed cathodes is considered. The CNT anode in the tandem device is tuned via ionic gating to become a common cathode. Ionic gating employs electric double layer charging to lower the work function of the CNT electrode. Secondly, the difficulty of sequentially stacking tandem layers by solution-processing is addressed. The devices are fabricated via solution and dry-lamination in ambient conditions with parallel processing steps. The method of fabricating the individual polymeric cells, the steps needed to laminate them together with a common CNT cathode, and then provide some representative results are described. These results demonstrate ionic gating of the CNT electrode to create a common cathode and addition of current and efficiency as a result of the lamination procedure.

A method of fabricating, in ambient conditions, organic photovoltaic tandem devices in a parallel configuration is presented. These devices feature an air-processed, semi-transparent, carbon nanotube common cathode.

A method of fabricating organic photovoltaic (OPV) tandems that requires no vacuum processing is presented. These devices are comprised of two ...

Synthesis and Functionalization of 3D Nano-graphene Materials: Graphene Aerogels and Graphene Macro Assemblies

Efforts to assemble graphene into three-dimensional monolithic structures have been hampered by the high cost and poor processability of graphene. Additionally, most reported graphene assemblies are held together through physical interactions (e.g., van der Waals forces) rather than chemical bonds, which limit their mechanical strength and conductivity. This video method details recently developed strategies to fabricate mass-producible, graphene-based bulk materials derived from either polymer foams or single layer graphene oxide. These materials consist primarily of individual graphene sheets connected through covalently bound carbon linkers. They maintain the favorable properties of graphene such as high surface area and high electrical and thermal conductivity, combined with tunable pore morphology and exceptional mechanical strength and elasticity. This flexible synthetic method can be extended to the fabrication of polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) and polymer/graphene oxide (GO) composite materials. Furthermore, additional post-synthetic functionalization with anthraquinone is described, which enables a dramatic increase in charge storage performance in supercapacitor applications.

This video method describes the synthesis of high surface area, monolithic 3D graphene-based materials derived from polymer precursors as well as single layer graphene oxide.

Efforts to assemble graphene into three-dimensional monolithic structures have been hampered by the high cost and poor processability of graphene. ...

Fabrication of Low Temperature Carbon Nanotube Vertical Interconnects Compatible with Semiconductor Technology

We demonstrate a method for the low temperature growth (350 &#176;C) of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT) bundles on electrically conductive thin-films. Due to the low growth temperature, the process allows integration with modern low-&#954; dielectrics and some flexible substrates. The process is compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication, and a method for the fabrication of electrical 4-point probe test structures for vertical interconnect test structures is presented. Using scanning electron microscopy the morphology of the CNT bundles is investigated, which demonstrates vertical alignment of the CNT and can be used to tune the CNT growth time. With Raman spectroscopy the crystallinity of the CNT is investigated. It was found that the CNT have many defects, due to the low growth temperature. The electrical current-voltage measurements of the test vertical interconnects displays a linear response, indicating good ohmic contact was achieved between the CNT bundle and the top and bottom metal electrodes. The obtained resistivities of the CNT bundle are among the average values in the literature, while a record-low CNT growth temperature was used.

A method for the growth of low temperature vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes, and the subsequent fabrication of vertical interconnect electrical test structures using semiconductor fabrication is presented.

We demonstrate a method for the low temperature growth (350 &#176;C) of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT) bundles on electrically conductive ...

Two-way Valorization of Blast Furnace Slag: Synthesis of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate and Zeolitic Heavy Metal Adsorbent

The aim of this work is to present a zero-waste process for storing CO2 in a stable and benign mineral form while producing zeolitic minerals with sufficient heavy metal adsorption capacity. To this end, blast furnace slag, a residue from iron-making, is utilized as the starting material. Calcium is selectively extracted from the slag by leaching with acetic acid (2 M CH3COOH) as the extraction agent. The filtered leachate is subsequently physico-chemically purified and then carbonated to form precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) of high purity (&lt;2 wt% non-calcium impurities, according to ICP-MS analysis). Sodium hydroxide is added to neutralize the regenerated acetate. The morphological properties of the resulting calcitic PCC are tuned for its potential application as a filler in papermaking. In parallel, the residual solids from the extraction stage are subjected to hydrothermal conversion in a caustic solution (2 M NaOH) that leads to the predominant formation of a particular zeolitic mineral phase (detected by XRD), namely analcime (NaAlSi2O6&#8729;H2O). Based on its ability to adsorb Ni2+, as reported from batch adsorption experiments and ICP-OES analysis, this product can potentially be used in wastewater treatment or for environmental remediation applications.

A protocol for the parallel production of precipitated calcium carbonate and zeolitic material from blast furnace slag via mineral carbonation and alkaline hydrothermal conversion, respectively, is presented. The performance of the zeolitic material towards nickel adsorption is tested.

The aim of this work is to present a zero-waste process for storing CO2 in a stable and benign mineral form while producing zeolitic minerals with ...

Precision Milling of Carbon Nanotube Forests Using Low Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy

A nanoscale fabrication technique appropriate for milling carbon nanotube (CNT) forests is described. The technique utilizes an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) operating with a low pressure water vapor ambient. In this technique, a portion of the electron beam interacts with the water vapor in the vicinity of the CNT sample, dissociating the water molecules into hydroxyl radicals and other species by radiolysis. The remainder of the electron beam interacts with the CNT forest sample, making it susceptible to oxidation from the chemical products of radiolysis. This technique may be used to trim a selected region of an individual CNT, or it may be used to remove hundreds of cubic microns of material by adjusting ESEM parameters. The machining resolution is similar to the imaging resolution of the ESEM itself. The technique produces only small quantities of carbon residue along the boundaries of the cutting zone, with minimal effect on the native structural morphology of the CNT forest.

Low pressure scanning electron microscopy in a water vapor ambient is used to machine nanoscale to microscale features in carbon nanotube forests.

A nanoscale fabrication technique appropriate for milling carbon nanotube (CNT) forests is described. The technique utilizes an environmental scanning ...

In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles without Aggregation in the Interlayer Space of Layered Titanate Transparent Films

Combinations of metal oxide semiconductors and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been investigated as new types of materials. The in situ synthesis of AuNPs within the interlayer space of semiconducting layered titania nanosheet (TNS) films was investigated here. Two types of intermediate films (i.e., TNS films containing methyl viologen (TNS/MV2+) and 2-ammoniumethanethiol (TNS/2-AET+)) were prepared. The two intermediate films were soaked in an aqueous tetrachloroauric(III) acid (HAuCl4) solution, whereby considerable amounts of Au(III) species were accommodated within the interlayer spaces of the TNS films. The two types of obtained films were then soaked in an aqueous sodium tetrahydroborate (NaBH4) solution, whereupon the color of the films immediately changed from colorless to purple, suggesting the formation of AuNPs within the TNS interlayer. When only TNS/MV2+ was used as the intermediate film, the color of the film gradually changed from metallic purple to dusty purple within 30 min, suggesting that aggregation of AuNPs had occurred. In contrast, this color change was suppressed by using the TNS/2-AET+ intermediate film, and the AuNPs were stabilized for over 4 months, as evidenced by the characteristic extinction (absorption and scattering) band from the AuNPs.

In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles without Aggregation in the Interlayer Space of Layered Titanate Transparent Films

Here, we present a protocol for the in situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) within the interlayer space of layered titanate films without the aggregation of AuNPs. No spectral change was observed even after 4 months. The synthesized material has expected applications in catalysis, photo-catalysis, and the development of cost-effective plasmonic devices.

Combinations of metal oxide semiconductors and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been investigated as new types of materials. The in situ synthesis of AuNPs ...

Controllable Nucleation of Cavitation from Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles for Enhancing High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Applications

In this study, plasmonic gold nanoparticles were simultaneously exposed to pulsed near-infrared laser light and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the controllable nucleation of cavitation in tissue-mimicking gel phantoms. This in vitro protocol was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, for both enhancement of imaging and therapeutic applications for cancer. The same apparatus can be used for both imaging and therapeutic applications by varying the exposure duration of the HIFU system. For short duration exposures (10 &#181;s), broadband acoustic emissions were generated through the controlled nucleation of inertial cavitation around the gold nanoparticles. These emissions provide direct localization of nanoparticles. For future applications, these particles may be functionalized with molecular-targeting antibodies (e.g. anti-HER2 for breast cancer) and can provide precise localization of cancerous regions, complementing routine diagnostic ultrasound imaging. For continuous wave (CW) exposures, the cavitation activity was used to increase the localized heating from the HIFU exposures resulting in larger thermal damage in the gel phantoms. The acoustic emissions generated from inertial cavitation activity during these CW exposures was monitored using a passive cavitation detection (PCD) system to provide feedback of cavitation activity. Increased localized heating was only achieved through the unique combination of nanoparticles, laser light and HIFU. Further validation of this technique in pre-clinical models of cancer is necessary.

This protocol demonstrates the controllable nucleation of cavitation in gel phantoms, through simultaneous exposure to both near-infrared pulsed laser light and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). The cavitation activity can then be used for enhancing imaging and/or therapeutic uses of HIFU.

In this study, plasmonic gold nanoparticles were simultaneously exposed to pulsed near-infrared laser light and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ...

An Efficient Method for Selective Desalination of Radioactive Iodine Anions by Using Gold Nanoparticles-Embedded Membrane Filter

Here, we demonstrate a detail protocol for the preparation of nanomaterials-embedded composite membranes and its application to the efficient and ion-selective removal of radioactive iodines. By using citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (mean diameter: 13 nm) and cellulose acetate membranes, gold nanoparticle-embedded cellulose acetate membranes (Au-CAM) have easily been fabricated. The nano-adsorbents on Au-CAM were highly stable in the presence of high concentration of inorganic salts and organic molecules. The iodide ions in aqueous solutions could rapidly be captured by this engineered membrane. Through a filtration process using an Au-CAM containing filter unit, excellent removal efficiency (&gt;99%) as well as ion-selective desalination result was achieved in a short time. Moreover, Au-CAM provided good reusability without significant decrease of its performances. These results suggested that the present technology using the engineered hybrid membrane will be a promising process for the large-scale decontamination of radioactive iodine from liquid wastes.

An efficient method for the rapid and ion-selective desalination of radioactive iodine in several aqueous solutions is described by using gold nanoparticles-immobilized cellulose acetate membrane filters.